Cable-joint structure



June 22 1926. 1,58505 R. W. ATKINSON CABLE JOINT STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 9, 1924 //VVE/V R W/ TNES SE6 7-0 WWW Patented June 22, 1926 i v i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

RALPH W. ATKINSON, OF PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD UNDERGROUND CABLE COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPO- RATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CABLE-JOINTSTRUGTURE.

Application filed October 9, 1924. Serial No. 742,591.

My invention relates to improvements in ductive capacity than has the cable insula- 65 the structure of joints for electric cables. tion proper, and therefore when the cable is p In the accompanying drawings Fig. I in service any pocket of free insulating comshows diagrammatically and in medial and pound within the joint is under considerable longitudinal section one end of ajoint strucelectrostatic stress,higher stress than ture for a single-conductor cable in which would obtain, were the compound equal in my invention is embodied. Fig. II similarspecific inductive capacity to the normal ly shows my invention in application to the cable insulation. joint structure in a multiple-conductor Any free body of compound within the in able, joint, forming part of the total wall of in- The joint structure now generally used in sulation which separates, the conductor from the installation of high-tension cables inthe joint casing, tends to assume a burden eludes an outer cylindrical casing of metal, of stress which is disproportionately greater surrounding the insulated splice or union of than its relative thickness.

' the cable conductors, and itself united at its It iS -a p c liari y of liquid insulating maends to the metal sheath of the two lengths terials that .their specific breakdown strength of cable which are united. This casing is decreases quite rapidly as the thickness inof necessity greater in diameter than the creases. lead sheath which elsewhere in the length of n Fig.- I of the drawings, 1 is the in- 20 the bl Surrounds th i l t d d sulated core and 2 is the lead sheath of a tors, and must at its ends be tapered to the ng h f ca le, 3 s aJ Oint casing, and this diameter of the normal sheath. Abrupt casing is at its ends tapered, as indicated at change of field with consequent concentrad united by wiped-solder joint 5 to tion of stress and danger of breakdown may cable sheath2.

be avoided by making the taper a relatively If w th Fig. I 1n v1ew, the details of struclong' and gradual one, but when this is done ture in wh1ch-my 1nvent1on is found be disanother diflicult-y is encountered, and to the g d, If it ss that ll t e overcoming of this difiiculty my present in space within the joint caslng and surroundti i dir t d, ng the conductor is filled with free insulat- 30 I ki th j i t th bl conductors ing compound, then tests would show that are b d d it d, Th i n is ordithe specific breakdown strength of the comnarily covered with a tube of insulating pound oulddecrease from point A to point material, or perhaps with wrapped-on paper B, as the thickness of the mass increased. t d th j i t d th adj t d f This condition then, under the circumstances the machine-insulated conductors are enm Obtains: as we proceed from A to veloped in a more bulky body of applied inthe 0ltage stress upon the layer of oil sulation, essentially solid in nature and ng compound) increases; the depth ordinarily built of wrapped-on paper. The .Of the stressed oil (in the case supposed) incasing is then-brought to position and secreases; and, slnce the specific breakdown cured,'and then the casing is filled and its g h 0f h compound decreases with inr contents are permeated with an insulating C e se In depth of the stressed layer, a point compound which is, at least when applied, m y b reached, and withln the range of i 1i id diti It i i ibl i th practical conditions is reached,. where the building of such a joint, but that there shall compound becomes overstressed and breaks 45 be spaces within the casing not occupied by down. This point of breakdown will lie the body of solid insulating material, and m here between A and B, the exact place these spaces (otherwise vacant) are, when elng related to the particular shaping of the joint is finished, filled with insulating e reduced end fiof the caslng 3, and also compound alone, and it is such pockets of of the inner limiting surface of the layer insulating compound which are the'places of fr e 0 mpound. v I of weakness of the joint as ordinarily con- Oi, again, the initial breakdown of the trncted, layer of compound may so reduce the The insulating compounds so applied-in strength of the joint in longitudinal direcliquid condition all have lower specifi i own that breakdown may occur, from they I bared (even though wrapped again), and

' tion exposed by cuttin .2 conductor at the point where itvhas been 'this end portion of the joint where. dangerous stresses develop, solid insulating material, ,as distinguished fromthe liquid or- V I viscidnnaterial commonly But this is practically impossible to: do; this end of the space within the joint casmg can not be filled so neatly and accurately with solid insulation, that spaces will not remain between the bodyof insulation and the in ner: wall. of the -Wheu then the otherwise joint filled wth $116k? SPWQSE will IDSfi lhLi Dg" compound alone, and the pockets oii compound so constituted are point's I of 5 avoid the difliculties ofthe m indiby adopting witlrin' the joint casing the; structure particularly shown in thc drawings r 1 At the ends of -'the joint structure where the joint casing tapers 'to the diameter of the cable sheath the conductor within-[is wrapped with paper orfiher insulating maply to the outer surface of of wrapped-ofi insulation an integument of respondingly tapered.

terial. This body6' of wrapped-on insulation is of course laminate in structure. It

is'built mam bebut slightl less in diameter than the space. within t a joint casing which contains-it, and its" outer face beheath the tapered end def the joint casing and between the points A and B is cor- It has eretofore been Eioposed to apstapered bo y metal electrically continuous with the cable sheath; but there are practical difliculties culties attendant integument to the-tapered end 0 in the way of the successful car ing out of the proposal to achieve the ends which I have in view. It is diflicult to apply a metal wrappedon paper insulation, and it is diflicult to shape a so-applied integmnenl; to the underlying body with such closeness that no aces will be left-beneath the integument an between the integument and the surface to which it is applied-spaces which in the finished article; form pockets of free compound. My invention overcomes the diffiupon this proposal. And I turn from this igressionto resume the description of the structure of my invention.

In the wrappin on of the paper or uivalent material 0 which the body 6 :i insulation is builtt, inlays 7 of metal foil are mtercalated. When the body of insulation has been built to the desired thickness, the

wrapping omis interrupted, and the inlay of metal; foil is laid on to constitute a cylinder 7'. The wrapping is recommenced'uponthe so'laid-on metalzcylinderr inlays of foil divide the body layers,'and the'la are so formed are, aceording to best'practice, of increasing from the innermosttmtheyoutermost, the

range of actual thickness being usually from one sixteenth to one quarter of. inch;

The inlays of foil'are all of them in leccontinuity with the cable sheath 2,

their exterior continuation 8.: The exfent' of the inlays longitudinally of the jointis progressive, as shown, the extent of the least, and; of the enter? 9 most The on structure as a whole exten well beyond the regioh A-B, which otherwise is a region. of weakness. The extreme ends. of these intercalated layers 7 lie-in a tapered arrangement, as indicated at 3.

D-C, Fig. I. on will be'perceived that, electricall considered, the surface"D-.G is the bean surface of the body of insulation surrounding the conductor. 7 The reason why it is, best practice'so -to proportion the parts that the layers of insulation defined by the inlays of metal shall be of imnmthickness inwardly and shall be ofi increasi'ng thickness -from the innermostjto the outermost, is that the stresses are great? est at the surface of conductor fromwhich point outwardly they diminish in intensity. The extreme ends of the inlays lie withinand define a conical surface and by" the grading of the thickness of the layers a continuous conical surface is more fully up proximated where strain is eater than where strain is less. And by t is provision maximum protection, is achieved with mini-' mum expenditure of material.

' The characteristic feature of the structure described is this: the insulated conductorprojecting beyond the end of the cute I awaycable sheath is surrounded by a succession of concentrically arranged cylinders of conducting material; thesecylinders-alrc brought into "electrical continuity with the cable sheath; the cylindersextend successively, from innermost to outermost, to progres'sively greater -distances longitudinally of the conductor, .from the point where it emerges from the lead sheath; the spaces between these concentric cylinders are filled with insulatin material. 'And in this insulating materia the undesirable characteristic of liquid insulation (described above) is not found.

It will be perceived that these intercalated inlays of metal foililin electrical continuity r with thecable 'sheat limit throughout their extent thefield of dielectric stress. And the body of insulation 'to whichr the field of stress is so limited, will be perceived to be solid insulation, or, more accurately speal? ing,wrapped-on tape of impregnated paper,

6 ofinsulationiiito h v sulating material, not as subject to breakdown, as is a layer of free insulating compound.- And it will be perceivedthat the insulating compound which otherwise fills the casing constitutes a free layer of insulation only externally of the foil structure, where it is not under stress. There is no stressed space filled with insulating compound alone in the taper of the casing.

This body 6 of wrapped-on paper underlies the tapered port-ion 4 of the joint casing, and preferably extends, as shown,so1ne distance beyond the taper.. But it is not necessary, for the attainment of my ends, nor

is it ordinarily feasible, that this carefully prepared envelope of wrapped-on insulation shall fill the joint easing from end to end. Usually it would be impracticable to build this envelope in the field so as to fill the whole of the joint casing. Accordingly, it will be perceived that the remote end of this envelope 6, the right-handend as seen in the drawing, is, beyond the point B, reversely tapered, from G to E.

The'joint easing 3 containing the splice-"l conductor is, when otherwise completed, .filled with insulating compound, 1n usual manner. The foil may of course be made perforate, for the passage of insulating compound in the filling operation,

I have spoken of the inlays introduced into the body of wrapped-on insulation, as metal foil, and ordinarily metal foil'will be found to be serviceable. It will of course be understood that the desired characteristics of these inlays are that they shall be of conducting material and that they shall be closely shaped to the body of solid insulation whichthey cover. Any material which meets these requirements may be used, and will be within the field of my invention. Foil has the value of being easily shaped, but it does not on that account exclusively occupy the field. As is well known to the art, fine wire netting is serviceable in many places,'equally with foil, and it is serviceable here. And netting has the added advantage of being in its nature permeable by insulating compound.

I have in the foregoing specification shown and described the invention in ap-. phcatlonto a single-conductor cable. The cable engineer will understand that the in-.

vention is applicable to cable-joints gener ally, whether of single conductor or of mu]- tiple-conductor cables. When lengths of multiple-conductor cable are to, be joined, the lead sheath is first cut away, just as is the case with a single-conductor cable, leaving an essentiallycylindrical body. The spreading of the component insulated ,conductors occurs only at an interval beyond the end of the lead sheath, and through this 'intervalthe essentially cylindrical body is undisturbed. The joint of my invention, described above, may, as will be perceived, be applied to the multiple-conductor cable withoutchange, inasmuch as the structure in which the invention particularly resides will surround the essentially cylindrical portion of thebared cable. grammatically indicated in Fig. II, where the tapered end of the joint casing and the wrapping with intercalated metallayers are shown surrounding the cylindrical body 11 of the unsheat-hed cable. At a more remote point the cylindrical shape of the cable body is destroyed in the spreading of the component conductors 12.

I claim as my invention:

1. A joint structure for an insulated and metal-sheathed electrical cable including in combination with a cable end from which the sheath has been cut back exposing the insulation-enveloped conductor, of a joint casing with tapered end secured at its end to the cable sheath adjacent the cut-back end thereof and surrounding the insulationenveloped conductor where by the cutting away of the sheath it has been exposed, a body of solid insulation surrounding the insulation-enveloped conductor within the tapered end portion of the joint casing, and

a cylinder of metal coaxially disposed with respect to'the cable, embedded in said body of solid insulation and overlying the por tion of the bod of insulation within it to the exciu'sion oi open spaces, such cylinder of metal, otherwise isolated, being electricallycontinuous with the adjacent cut-back end of the cable sheath.

2. A joint structure for an insulated and metal-sheathed electrical cable including in combination with a cable end from which the sheath has been cut back exposing the insulation-enveloped conductor, of a joint casing with tapered end secured at its end to the cable sheath adjacent the cut-back end thereof and surrounding the insulationenveloped conductor whereby the cutting away of the sheath it has been exposed, a wrapped on body of insulation surrounding the insulation-enveloped conductor within the tapered end portion of the joint casing, and a cylinder of metal coaxially disposed with'respect to the cable embedded in said This is diai to wrapped-on body of insulation, such cyl inder of metal otherwise isolated being electrically continuous with the adjacent cutback end of the cable sheath.

3. A joint structure for an insulated and metal-sheathed electrical cable including in combination with a cable end from which the sheath has been .'cut back exposing the insulation-enveloped conductor, of a joint casing with tapered end secured at its end to the cable sheath adjacent the cut-back end thereof and surrounding the insulation-em veloped conductor "where by the cutting sulation-enveldped conductor v away of it has been exposed, a

body of solid insulation-surroundinfi the inwit in the tapered end portion of the joint casing, and

two cylinders cf metal unequal in vdiameter ,coaxially with respect to the cable, embedded in;said;body of solid insulation;

7 such 'cylinders 'of metal being el,ectrica1ly continuousiwith-thercable sheath, the cylinden of greater .-diameter extending from the cut-back an of the cable sheath longitudinally within'the casing to greater distance than the cylinder of less diameter.

4. Alj'oint. structure fer' insulated and -metal-sheathed electrical cableincluding in enveloped conductor where by the cutting away of the sheathit has been-exposed', a-

body of solidinsulation surrounding the insulation-envelo V conductor within the tapered end portion oi the joint casing, and

a plurality 9f cylinders of metal unequal in diameter coaxlall disposed with respect to thejcable and em dded in said body ofsolid/insulation to the exclusion of internal open spaces, such cylinders of metal otherwise isolated within-such body of solid insulation electrically continuous with theadjacent-cut-back end of the cable sheath, and such cylinders from the-inner,

most outwardly extending to successively greater distances longitudinally within 'the casing, the extreme ends .ofsaidjcylin'ders lying, within and defining a, conical surface whichextends beyond the taper to which the endofthe casingissha .5. A joint structure or an insulated and metal-sheathed electrical cable including in combination with a cable end from which the sheath has been cut back exposing the insulation-enveloped conductor'of a ]oint casing with tape cable sheath adjacentthe cut-beck end thereof and surrounding the insulation-enveloped conductor where by the cutting away of the sheath it-has been exposed, a body of solid insulation surrounding the insulation-enveloped conductor-within the tapered end portion of the joint casing, and a lurality of cylinders of metai unequal in; iamet'er coaxial] disposed with respect to the cable andem ded in said body of solid-insulaticn, such cylinders of metal-being electrically continuous with the cable sheath, such cylinders defining successive layers of the body of insulation within which they are embedded, the layers of insulation so defined being of minimum thickness inwardly and increasing in thickness from the innermost Y to the outermost. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set RALPH w. ATKINSON.

red end secured at itsend to the w 

